


Northern Lights

by notafraidofstopping876



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Non-Consensual Touching, Rape/Non-con Elements, Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 05:46:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17892644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notafraidofstopping876/pseuds/notafraidofstopping876
Summary: Ten years after the conclusion of Breaking Dawn. Edward Cullen makes a routine trip to his birth city of Chicago with his wife and daughter, but unexpected complications require him and Bella to once again enlist the help of their Denali cousins.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

Denali, Alaska

Tanya

 

“Are you sure you won’t join us?” Kate, her hand in Garrett’s, already knew my answer. But her sisterly love and guilt didn’t stop her from asking. “You must be thirsty, you haven’t hunted in almost two weeks”.

“No, I’ll probably find a caribou after you’re gone. It’s their migration season, they’re bound to pass through soon.”

She sighed, but Garrett squeezed her hand gently, silently encouraging her to not press the matter. His black eyes were apologetic, but I just shrugged. He had nothing to be sorry for. None of them did.

“Kate, Garrett, we’re ready!” Carmen’s voice cut through from outside the house. No doubt she and Eleazar were eager for their trip to Kenai Peninsula, known for their large population of coyote, a personal favorite for them both.

We exchanged our goodbyes, and I was alone. Well, even more than usual: a prospect that would have depressed some, but was almost euphoric to me. It had been a decade since the exchange in Forks, Washington, that had altered us so deeply. We had watched as Irina was dismembered and inflamed, helpless against the Volturi. Even worse was her willingness to to have gone to them at all, so bitter and resentful to the Cullens, our oldest friends, that she’d turned them over without halting for an explanation or even consulting with our coven.

I had realize that in a way, Irina had been lost to us ever since Laurent’s death, her grief burying the sister we knew beneath a cloak of hatred and sadness. The Quileute wolves had killed Laurent because he was about to kill Bella, because Victoria wanted to kill Bella, because Edward had killed James because he had also wanted to kill Bella...all of the death and violence our family and the Cullens had so very much wanted to avoid. For us especially, after Sasha’s death all those centuries ago. As we had mourned our mother in Slovakia, Kate and I had mourned Irnia’s death...though this time, Kate had a considerably easier healing, largely due to finding Garrett.

Yes...leave it to my sister, after centuries as the tempting succubus, leading men to her bed and their death, to find her own love on the very cusp of mass destruction. Having Garrett as a companion, as well as a project, so to speak, had kept her grief from entirely obliterating her. She had been constantly occupied with teaching him the ins and outs of the “vegetarian” lifestyle, hunting for wildlife, resisting the temptation of human blood. Considering how long he’d lived on the traditional food source, as a nomad no less, he’d done well. A few casualties at the start of the transition, but with a few rare exceptions who among our kind didn’t have at least a few human lives to account for?

Kate was probably right: Hunting with the rest of the coven probably would have been in my best interest, at least for a change in scenery and food source. But the truth of the matter was that no matter how much I loved my family...now that I was the only one not a part of a bonded pair...being alone was so much less painful. It wasn’t as if I could point blank ask either couple “I know you love each other but can you tone it down a bit because I’m in agony?”

But by myself, surrounded by the vast Tundra, it was easier to direct my mind elsewhere. Of course, I had it easy compared to others. Kate and Garrett had only been together as a couple for a decade, and Carmen and Eleazar had lived with us only a few years more than that. Poor Edward had resided with no romantic partner, but surrounded by other pairs, since Carlile transformed Esme in 1921, tacking on Emmett with Rosalie in 1935, Alice and Jasper in 1950, all the way until he found his Bella in 2005.

Edward...the only one who had ever turned me down. The one who was happily married, with a child no less. The one that I had to admit I still had a longing for, no matter how undeniably perfect he was with his love. I was happy for him of course, like all the others. And for so long, I had convinced myself that I was content with my role as the seductress, and the parade of lovers I had bedded and then let go...or devoured in my earlier days. It was only within the last few decades that I realized I wanted something more...something stronger, deeper. And it was that bond which had eluded me.

In the silent house, the ring of my cell phone came across as especially shrill. A mix of emotions filled me when I saw the name on the screen.

“Hello, Edward?” I answered.

“Tanya. Is the rest of your family there?”

“No. I’m alone. They’ve gone hunting. Is something wrong? Are you in trouble?!”

“No…” he answered, evently. “We’re not in trouble per say...but we are going to need your help…”


	2. Inheritance

Chapter 1-Inheritance

Two months earlier, Forks, Washington

Bella

 

The familiar hum of Jacob’s motorcycle approaching from the highway stopped both Edward and myself in the middle of our respective tasks: my head snapped up from my book and his fingers abruptly halted on the piano keys. Our yellow eyes met, then dropped in sync as Renesmee entered the room. All day we’d kept ourselves and our daughter occupied, determined to keep secret what awaited her this evening. The last thing we wanted was to let the truth slip with only minutes to go.

“What’s with you two?” Nessie laughed, her fingers making minor adjustments to the placement of her bronze curls. “It’s just a night out with Jacob, nothing I haven’t done before.”

In a way, she was correct. Since Jacob had imprinted on Renesmee ten years ago, very few days had they spent apart. She’d lived with Edward and myself, concealed in our home deep in the woods on the Cullen property, secluded enough so that we could live our days without drawing attention, but close enough to La Push so Jacob could be near her and still fulfill his duties as alpha to his pack.

Once the threat of the Volturi massacring us all had lifted, one of the first priorities of both the Uley and Black packs, as well as the Cullen family, had been to renegotiate the terms of the treaty, given Jacob’s now binding attachment to us. Ultimately Renesmee, as Jacob’s imprintee and only half vampire, was given unlimited access to the La Push reservation.

The rest of us Cullens had been a little trickier. Considering all we had been through together, it seemed a bit ridiculous to keep us fully banned, but the fact of the matter was that we were still vampires, and the Quileutes couldn’t justify letting us run free on their land, no matter how civilized we were. Especially given how our presence had the potency to trigger even more young men of the tribe to phase unnecessarily. After much discussion, it was decided to give let the Cullen vampires on Quileute land, but only when accompanied by one of the members of either pack. Of course, as most of us had suspected, Edward and myself were generally the only ones who ever took advantage of this addendum.

Once we had the certainty that Renesmee would live a long life with the rest of us, the rest of our family had decisions of their own to make. They had kept close while Renesmee was still growing, not wanting to miss a moment of her fast evolving childhood. Carlisle and Esme relocated to Port Angeles, working at their hospital, with the rest earning additional degrees at the University of Washington in Seattle. No more than a few hours drive, even less than that at vampire speed, separated us, and no more than a few days at a time would go by without each and every one of us in the same location. If we couldn’t all cohabitate, this was the next best thing.

But once Renesmee reached full maturity, seven years after her birth, as we had expected, the time had come for the rest of the coven to relocate. It was an inevitable part of our never changing appearances, to stay one step ahead of any humans who noticed, and depart before their suspicious became a threat. Once again, the Cullen “children” had adopted the charade of high school students as they had when I’d first met them, this time in Portland. Alice and Jasper still had a year left, while Rosalie and Emmett went on a private world tour. Last time we’d heard from them where were in Moscow. We’d left Forks to visit, and vise versa, and while the arrangement was necessary, it was not ideal. Of course, after tonight, all sorts of new arrangements would have to be made.

As the sound of Jake’s motorcycle increased with closer proximity, another loud, urgent sound joined in under it, like adding a second instrument to a song: his heavy, and much faster than normal heartbeat.

“Where’s Jacob taking you tonight?” Edward inquired, attempting to appear nonchalant.

Nessie rolled her eyes. “Like you don’t already know! But I honestly have no idea, Jake says it’s a surprise. Not that anything is really a ‘surprise’ around here,” she teased. “All he said was ‘wear something nice, but something you can still move it’, so I’m really up in the air. I hope this will work”. She gestured at her outfit, most of which was obscured by a thick, black leather jacket that had been a gift from Jacob for when she rode with him on the bike. But poking out from underneath I saw the edge of an olive green blouse, fashionable jeans, and knee-high black combat boots.

“I can’t speak for tonight’s activity,” I partially lied, “but you do look beautiful”.

“You always say that.”

“Only because it’s true,” I answered, rising to my feet. “Jake will be here in just a moment. Let’s meet him outside.”

“You aren’t inviting him in?” Renesmee’s eyebrow cocked at my suggestion, but I zipped outside, Edward right behind me, and Renesmee following suit before she could inquire further.

It was just now twilight, enough light still in the sky to cast shadows through the trees. A lifetime ago, before Renesmee, before our marriage, before I fully knew of the existence of the Quileute shape-shifters, Edward had commented on the sadness of this time period, the ending of another day. But it was the darkness of this time period that I was immensely grateful for now.

Because Renesmee’s humanity meant that while her vision was far superior to that of a human’s, the dimming light would obscure a few smaller details that vampire eyes could easily detect. And as Jacob came into sight, I found this detail almost immediately-the crux of the secret Edward and I had tried to hard not to spoil for the two of them. Inside his pants pocket, deep enough to not be lost on the motorcycle ride was a small black box, it’s bulge sticking out every so slightly from the outside of the fabric. Within that black box was nestled the ring Billy Black had once presented to Jacob’s mother, Sarah-the same ring Jacob had shown Edward and I the night he came to ask for Renesmee’s hand in marriage.

I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. He’d come by late one night long after Ness had fallen asleep, fidgeting and restless from the second he stepped in and asked if he could talk to us. Though Edward must have known the intention of his visit almost immediately, he gave no indication that he did, letting Jacob make his request.

“Bells, Edward,” he’d begun. “I...well, I can’t imagine not having Renesmee in my life. The first time I saw her nothing mattered more to me than her happiness welfare, in whatever capacity she needed. The ‘how” didn’t matter to me so much as long as she was there. In a way, I always knew a day would come when the connection we share would evolve until something more, well, adult, but I wasn’t in any hurry. And Edward, I know you’re old fashioned and all that, so I wanted to do this the right way.”

That was when he’d revealed the ring box in his pocket to us, and even though I’d been quite certain what he was getting at, I couldn’t help but gasp and grab Edwards hand. In my peripheral vision, I found his face turned up in an incandescent smile.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, I would like to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Jacob had barely finished speaking when I was on my feet, pulling him in for a hug, making him gasp at the sudden thrust into my frigid body. Edward was at our sides, his arms extended around the both of us, less than a second after.

“Jake, of course. I mean, you knew we’d say yes, right?”

“I mean, I was pretty sure, but I didn’t want to assume,” Jacob admitted.

“You were correct, the gesture and protocol are not lost on me,” Edward praised, smiling even wider. “Welcome to the family: Officially.”

Jacob looked down, sheepishly. “I haven’t asked Ness yet. Speaking of which, I hope you like the ring.” He broke away from us to open the black box for us to view. Inside the velvet material sat a pear cut moonstone placed on a thin, white gold band.

“It was my mother’s ring,” Jacob informed us. “I know it’s nothing extravagant, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Especially since that’s what you guys did.” His eyes dropped to my left hand, holding the ring that had been worn by Elizabeth Masen over a century ago.

“It’s lovely, Jake,” I had insisted. “Not a traditional pick for an engagement ring, but I suppose that’s appropriate all things considered.”

And now with the sun setting, the same ring was waiting in my best friend’s pocket, with the intent to place it on the finger of the extraordinary young woman we loved. Jacob extended his hand to help Renesmee onto the back of his motorcycle. He climbed on in front of her, and as he kicked the machine into gear she turned around, a brilliant grin on her face, and waved as they began to drive away. Jacob briefly turned his head as well, giving Edward and I a conspiratorial look. I caught Edward’s wink to Jacob, and then they were gone.

Once I was certain they were far enough away, I squeezed Edward’s hand, and asked: “Does she suspect anything?”

“Yes and no. The past few times Jacob has taken her out, the idea flickered through her mind briefly, and it did tonight. But she quickly dismissed it, so I’m sure she’ll still be surprised,” he said. Well, at least we didn’t spoil it. “He’s taking her to-”

“No,” I interrupted. “I mean, I’d prefer Renesmee shows us herself, later.”

“Ah,” Edward agreed. We stood silent, my thoughts, even with the near-perfect clarity that came with my immortal life, on the verge of crashing together and colliding in complete chaos. But before they could, Edward turned to me, cupping a single hand around my face, his ochre eyes burning into mine. “Show me?” he requested.

I nodded, closing my eyes to concentrate. Whenever he had the desire for me to lift my mental shield and allow him into my usually silent mind, he would simply say “show me”. Even after a decade of practice, removing my gift still required a magnanimous amount of focus, but I could now maintain the lift for several minutes at a time. As such we typically reserved this glimpse into my thoughts for the moments that words couldn’t reach. The elastic stretched away from my mind, and my thoughts and emotions about the surely imminent engagement of our daughter became Edward’s.

I harbored a degree of hesitation and uncertainty, not out of mistrust for my best friend. On the contrary, I was overjoyed that the suffering I had caused him, however unintentionally, was resolved. But it turns out there is something to be said for the maternal instincts and protectiveness. Not to mention the fact that we’d had monumentally less time than average to watch her grow up.

Then there was brewing anxiety on how this event would alter the dynamics of our family, as well as the packs...not to mention where we would even host the wedding. All of the previous weddings of the pack that had transpired, Emily and Sam, Jared and Kim, Paul and Rachel, had been hosted on Quileute land. While the Cullens were given conditional privilege to the lands, we would surely not be the only vampires Renesmee would want there to celebrate. There were our Denali cousins. Then there were a handful of our allies from the Volturi standoff who had remained in close contact, ever enamored by my unique child: Zafrina and the Amazons, Benjamin and Tia from Egypt, and Huilen and Nahuel. Ten years ago their time in Forks had been begrudgingly allowed for protection, but I wasn’t sure how inviting a handful of traditional vampires back when it wasn’t necessary for protection would be received well by Sam Uley and the others.

But floating above all of these apprehensions, I was beyond overjoyed.

I held the shield in suspension for as long as I could, until Edward pulled me into him, breaking my concentration and snapping it back, silencing my thoughts once again.

“Sorry,” I murmured. “I can try again-”

“No need love,” Edward assured me. “I got a good look. It seems we’re completely in agreement, as I suspected. Though I don’t know if I’d be so concerned about the specifics about the big day. I sincerely doubt anyone wants any unnecessary tension. Besides, what’s a wedding without some discord between the inlaws? Though I actually do have an idea about that.”

“Name it.”

“Well, actually, it’s not just for the wedding. It’s regarding the matter of my family estate.”

My brows furrowed, completely blind as to where this was leading. “What about our estate?”

He swallowed once before trying again. “No, not the Cullen family. I mean the Masen family estate.”

Oh...I could almost feel the cartoon light bulb forming above my head. Long ago Edward had explained to me that after his transformation in 1918, Carlisle had helped him forge the necessary paperwork to gain the inheritance of his parents. This had included not only the family home in Chicago but the substantial monetary assets from Edward Senior’s law practice, which has only magnified with almost a century of interest and investments. Back in the sixties, he’s posed as the new Masen family heir to re-inherit it.

“It’s coming about time for me to pass on the Masen family fortune. I’d expected the line to end with me of course. But I was thinking, we might go to Chicago, just the three of us, and divide the estate between Renesmee and myself, and have the deed to the home placed in her name. Now that she’s fully matured, we can pose as siblings and co-heirs.”

"You've thought about this for a while," I observed,

“Yes. But it seems most befitting now. It will set Jacob and Ness with some money of their own. And I’ve been meaning to take my girls to my birth city anyway. I’d love to do it as a family before she gets married.”

The plan he presented was appealing by all accounts, especially visiting Edward’s home as a human. I was always eager to learn more about his mother, after all, I owed her so much. She’d birthed him, raised him to be good and kind, and convinced Carlisle to transform him into a vampire. She gave me my reason to exist, and I wore her jewelry, both her wedding ring and diamond heart pendant, and I would never be able to know her or even thank her. Even Edward’s memories of her were dim and clouded. But one part of this plan was still unclear.

“Excellent...but how exactly does that fit with my original conundrum?” I probed.

“Well, I thought we might offer to have the wedding at the Masen home in Chicago,” he answered. “It’s far from here, so the Quileutes don’t have to worry about their own territory. And the home is normally vacant, minus our housekeeper, so the hopefully the wolves won’t be repulsed by the vampire scent as they would be here.”

“Huh…” I considered. “But then-”

“Bella,” he stopped me, ever so gently. “Darling, we can worry later. Perhaps you’d prefer to simply enjoy the occasion? I think you’ll agree that there is so much to celebrate.”

  
I nodded once, before reaching my mouth up to his. As we continued to kiss, I was reminded of how right he was, that we truly had so much to celebrate. The sun continued to set, and we were soon joined by a chorus of crickets and a display of fireflies dancing in the dark.

Approximately thirty minutes after the sun’s light had vanished entirely, the motorcycle returned. Edward and I stood waiting as it’s passengers dismounted from the bike, and then wordlessly stepped forward, fingers clasped. Wordlessly, Renesmee held out her left hand, now adorned with the moonstone ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you wanted a visual of Sarah Black/Renesme's ring, here's a reference pic:  
> https://www.thebealine.com/listing/233075999/faceted-moonstone-ring-moonstone


	3. Stalker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So we'll be introducing a few new, original characters in this chapter. I'm excited to see how they'll eventually mix with the canon characters. If anyone is wondering how I imagine the two characters, I included face cast references.
> 
> For Forest, I imagine Wesley Taylor.  
> https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853330/mediaviewer/rm1234621440
> 
> For Cilla, I imagine Laura Zakrin  
> https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=576&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=amB8XL-1GoKGjwSEt5O4Bg&q=laura+zakrin&oq=laura+zakrin&gs_l=img.3..0i10i24.66670.68875..69109...0.0..0.139.1283.3j9......1....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..35i39j0j0i67j0i8i30j0i24.iYAyKp_NTMc#imgrc=ayFj5EFgCBlAvM:
> 
> Trigger warning: This chapter does get pretty dark, with depictions of stalking, kidnapping, and nonconsensual sex. 
> 
> P.S. The movie plot with the Chicago police/Polish neighborhood station is loosely inspired by my family, in particular, my grandfather who really did guard a liquor cabinet during the prohibition as his first job. (This will make sense when you read I promise).

Chapter 2-Stalker

Chicago, IL

Forest Griffin

 

Sitting cross-legged on my hotel bed, I focused on the Polish text of my script, preparing for another long day of shooting tomorrow. Since accepting the part of Darek Smolarek, the eldest son of an immigrant family in Chicago’s Polish neighborhood, I had immersed myself in the Polish language and trailed rigorously with a dialect coach.

“Mamo, znalazłem pracę. Posterunek policji wynajął mnie do pilnowania szafki z truciznami skonfiskowanymi ze specjalnych gadżetów,” I read aloud, letting the words of a language hadn’t known at all just months prior try to bear meaning. Roughly translated, Darek was telling his mother that to help support the family he’d accepted a job at a local police station guarding the cabin where liquor that had been confiscated from speakeasies was stored to later use as evidence in court.

When my agent had approached me to star in _Volstead_ , a period drama about the Chicago prohibition, it took very little convincing for me to accept the part. For one, it was to be directed by Jefferson Nickolaw, a young director already on his way to prestige in the film industry. The fact that the majority of filming would be in and around historic neighborhoods in Chicago, the city of _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ which was the movie that had piqued my interest in acting in the first place, was a definite bonus.

Mostly though, was attracted to the plotline: the Smolarek family coming to America for the hopes of a better future only to experience the devastation of the Great Depression, Darek taking a job as a liquor guard to keep his family eating, and becoming a target of the mob when he shoots a bootlegger trying to break in. I clung desperately to the hope that _Volstead_ would be a reprieve from the teeny-bopper fantasies I’d been starring in, and the hoards of screaming girls that now followed my every step.

I knew I should be grateful that I’d found work so quickly after drama school: most of my graduating class was still earning the majority of their income steaming lattes and stocking shelves. In a way, I was grateful that I had steady work and money, and that people knew my name-it was much more than I thought I would have by now, if ever.

  
I’d managed to get cast as a _Law and Order_ corpse, and by some fluke, that episode was seen by the casting director of the MTV series _Oceans of Neptune_ , who decided I looked eerily similar to the lead actor of the series and insisted I come in and read for the role of his brother. A few contracts later and I was playing Pluto, Roman god of the underworld, and for whatever reason, the good folks at MTV decided that said underworld god needed to be shirtless and brooding the whole time he was on camera for every angsty, hormonal teenager in America to thirst over.

Sure, I was flattered, especially since I’d grown up considering myself to be average looking at best, standing a bit shorter than most guys with eyes that always seemed a tad too serious, a bit too wiry of a frame, skin that burnt rather than tanned, a far too wide chin and unruly black hair. Now I had women quite literally throwing themselves at me, with paparazzi constantly hunting me down. Overwhelming as that was, it still wasn’t as bad as the handful of stalkers I had acquired.

The first two had been resolved with a few court dates and a restraining order, but there was one woman still at large that my security team and the police had yet to locate, which made me incredibly anxious. First the letters in my mailbox, then the gifts inside of my home, then the phone calls...and for all that the only concrete information I was able to get about this woman was that she went by the name “Cilla”...it was like she truly kept vanishing into thin air without so much as a fingerprint or appearance on surveillance footage. Though I knew it was an irrational feeling on a conscious level, and even though Richard, my bodyguard, was never far away, I couldn’t quite shake the notion that someone was watching.

But for now, at least, I was secure in my hotel suite, with no noise other than the gentle hum of the water as Richard showered. Somewhere between reading my lines, the exhaustion from the day, and the comfy bed, my vision began to blur and my consciousness began to fade, blurring the line between my senses and slumber.

This was not a restful sleep. For one, it was still too early, with lights and my day’s clothes still on. Absurd sensations taunted me: the sound of metal twisting, a feeling of cold, a muffled scream, the awareness of another presence occupying this dream. But I had to be dreaming, right? Our suite was on the third floor, windows and doors locked. I tried desperately to ignore them odd sounds, commanded my eyes to stay closed, to block out the far too realistic dream.

It wasn’t until I felt a grip of ice pressed around my throat that I opened my eyes in alarm. Inches from my face hovered a woman of ethereal, phenomenal beauty: bone like skin, symmetrical features, glistening teeth grinning with amusement. But surely I was still dreaming, right? There was no other way of accounting for the unprecedented beauty, the arctic temperature of the far too heavy grip on my neck...and the stark red color of her eyes. Even so, I instinctively called out to Richard, until her other hand clamped over my mouth with a force that nearly knocked back a few teeth.

“Don’t bother,” the strange woman’s voice purred, inching even closer to me, giving me a potent whiff of a sweet, ether-like scent. “He won’t be joining us. It’s just you and me.” Not wanting to comprehend the implications of what she was saying, I tried in vain to struggle. Every inch of me was extremely aware that this woman was dangerous, and a primal desire to fight for my life was igniting.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be difficult,” she murmured, rising to her feet and lifting my above her head single-handedly in one fluid movement that knocked my equilibrium out of alignment. “Surely you’ve heard from me.”

“Cilla,” I gasped, dangling helplessly in her iron grasp. Of course. But that still didn’t explain how she had found me, broken into a third-floor hotel room, and held me high above her head as if I weighed nothing. “What do you want?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased. “But perhaps this is not the best place.” To my immense relief she set me down, but that relief quickly died once she yanked me into a stranglehold. This was quickly followed by a swift, fast blow to the head, and a staggering blackness.

I awoke lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling of what appeared to be an old warehouse. I couldn’t make out much in the dim lights, but I could make out the vast open space and the overwhelming clouds of dust that made me sneeze. It was when I tried to cover my sneeze that it came to my attention that I was firmly tied to a table, rendering me completely immobile.

“At last,” a familiar voice called out in the darkness. In a second Cilla was mounting me, her freezing fingers coyly brushing my face. “Sorry about that Forest. But it was so much easier to transport you inconspicuously if you were unconscious,” she laughed.

“What do you want,” I wheezed, another sneeze threatening me.

“You’re a smart boy, surely you’ve figured that out. I want what every woman wants,” she answered, her eyes never breaking from mine. “I want to feel the touch of a beautiful man. And I never settle, Mister Griffin. I only choose the best. And you are quite the beguiling man. So many women after you, yet few have the means acquire you.”

So she wanted my body. Among the pure terror I was experiencing, I couldn’t help but also feel ashamed at this blatant objectification. I couldn’t run, and I suspected that refusing would end disastrously. I couldn’t comprehend what, but there was something otherworldly about Cilla, and I dreaded what would happen if I was the object of her fury rather than her desire. I mentally prayed that once she’d had her way with me, she’d be satisfied and let me be.

“Shall we begin?” As if I had a choice. “Don’t worry, I’ll unloosen you soon enough. Not much fun if you can’t move. But I can’t have you running off either so…” Before I could register her words, her chilling breath was touching my neck, and a sharp, stabbing pain. I screamed, making Cilla laugh. From the source of her bite, a hot searing acid burned, more excruciating than any horrid sensation I had ever experienced. Every other sensation that followed was a mere footnote to the fire that began to spread. The freedom from the ropes as Cilla ripped them away, my clothes shredding in scraps off my body, Cilla’s hands as she aggressively kneaded my flesh and snapped a few bones in the process...none of this could hold my attention while the inferno raged.


	4. Found

Chapter Three-Found

Chicago, IL

Edward

Two months had stretched between the night of Jacob Black’s proposal, and the day I boarded a plane destined for Chicago with my wife and daughter in tow. For one, we’d had to wait for a week of consistent clouds, accounting for the dramatic changes in weather from one day to the next that came with the Midwest. Alice had finally found a week in November that would accommodate, but advised us to “bundle up” in case the sun should sneak out. No issue there, with the wind off of Lake Michigan that merited the nickname “Windy City”, extra scarves and the like around our faces to conceal our skin until we could take cover wouldn’t be out of place.

The two days of our vacation had matched Alice’s vision, giving us ample opportunity to go out and about. After landing in the O’Hare International Airport, a lengthy cab ride through congested traffic transported us to the Masen family home in the now historic neighborhood. Coming back had previously proven to be an emotional pilgrimage. Living as a vampire decades after what was natural, I felt so disconnected from the life I’d known, and especially the mother I’d loved, remembered now only through murky memories. But approaching the grey stone exterior, I could almost see her standing in the doorway, her face framed by reddish hair, smiling as she saw me walking up the stoop.

I couldn’t help but wistfully imagine how I wish I would have, in some alternate universe, brought my love home to introduce her to my parents, or bring their grandchild for a visit. I don’t know how my father would have reacted to a granddaughter, rather than a boy to bear the Masen family name. But mother would have loved them both, I had no doubt about that. No, my birth parents would never know the two women I loved more than life, so I would merely have to do the next best thing.

After an afternoon spent signing the necessary paperwork distribute the Masen fortune and home to myself and my daughter, we fulfilled Renesmee’s request of mounting the top of the Willis Tower. When I’d told her we’d be going to Chicago, this was the first destination she’d asked for, largely because it was featured in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,_ a film she and Jacob had enjoyed watching together on several occasions. I watched as she climbed up on the rail, and pressed her head against the glass, just as the characters in the film did.

“Mom, Dad, you gotta try this,” she enthused. Not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm, we acquiesced. “It’s true, everything does look so much more peaceful from up here,” she commented.

“Did I ever tell you I was here in the city when they filmed the parade scene?” I prodded. It was a safe enough question, as there were very few other tourists in the tower within close range. Probably deterred by the fog that our vampire/half vampire eyes had no trouble seeing through.

“No way!” she enthused.

“Yes, I was trying to get through downtown with my rental car, but the main streets were blocked off. I was informed it was because a movie was being shot, and I found out later it was, in fact, the parade scene.”

“You gotta tell Jacob that story when we get back, he’ll love it,” Nessie said. “Did you guys hear about the other movie that was supposed to be shot here?”

“I did actually,” Bella chimed in, eyes still on the Chicago street over a thousand feet below us. “The leading man unexpectedly went missing so production halted.”

“Well the film is about the Chicago prohibition. If it’s ever completed we can watch it and I’ll point out all the mistakes,” I teased Renesmee. She rolled her eyes. It was a long standing joke we shared, where she would watch a movie set during a time period one of the Cullens lived through, and poke fun at any historical details that were inaccurate. Jacob usually responded with “Just shut up and watch,” so of course the rest of us would keep it up just to irk him-Rosalie especially. Ness would usually match Jacob’s sentiments with her words, but her thoughts told me that she actually found these exchanges funny as they were all in good fun. Our little secret.

It was dusk by the time we were finished downtown, and I hailed us a cab, giving him an address neither Bella nor Renesmee were expecting.

“We aren’t headed home?” Bella had inquired. We hadn’t discussed any further plans for today.

“We will be,” I clarified. “I have a place I’d like to show you.” The driver let us out in front of a faded, brick church that had seen better days, but that held great significance to my human years. A few block away from the house, it had once been attended by the well-to-do families of our neighborhood, the Masens included, the structure was now abandoned.

“This was where my parents were married,” I informed my family. There were no pedestrians in the area, but as a precaution, I took slow, deliberate steps down the sidewalk. Bella and Renesmee followed my lead as I took them to the other side of the block the the cemetery that sat behind what had been the church’s main entrance. The majority of the graves held the bodies of the long deceased, with no more immediate relatives to pay their respects...with one odd exception.

The iron gate was rusted shut, so I picked up Renesmee by her waist and placed her gently on the other side, Bella and I following her. Any one of us could have easily broken the barrier open ourselves, but why leave evidence on the off chance someone else came by?

“Two and a half vampires walk into a graveyard...” Renesmee whispered, laughing at her own joke. As she’d grown up, Ness had developed a droll and surprisingly self-aware sense of humor. We had Jacob’s influence to thank for that, not that I minded...usually. (Bella and I had blown a collective gasket when Jacob introduced Ness to _South Park_ when she was barely three). But given how tightly wound both of her parents tended to be, I was grateful our daughter had Jacob to help balance that out.

I lead our party past several rows of granite headstones, faded and crumbling with time. A handful bore the names of individuals from my human life: cousins, neighbors, even my paternal grandparents, long ago claimed to old age, accidents, diseases such as the Spanish influenza that almost took me, and the first world war that surely would have done me in had the influenza not hit. We reached the plot I came to visit, and paused, letting my wife and daughter read the epitaph.

MASEN

Edward Anthony      Elizabeth Margaret

1873-1918                       1877-1918

 

“Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet my wife, Bella, and our daughter, Renesmee,” I said. “I realize I’m a bit unorthodox, as the standard protocol would have been to introduce you to my beloved before marriage and children. I apologize sincerely, but...well, it’s a long story.”

 _They could take a long story. They’re not going anywhere._ I glanced an Nessie in my peripheral vision in response to her mental comment and she looked down, sheepishly. I’d done my best to pass the manners my mother had instilled in me to her and I appreciated her decorum in not voicing this particular thought...though I had to admit, it was funny.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Bella murmured, her eyes locked with the stone just as if were maintaining eye contact in a conversation. She broke away from my side to kneel down, reached her right hand forward, and flicked her wrist forward so the back of her hand was facing the grave. I was puzzled by the gesture until she spoke again. “Elizabeth, may I call you Elizabeth? Edward gave me your ring, I hope you don’t mind. You have excellent taste, Mr. Masen, it’s exquisite.”

I marveled once again at my love, how much she could accept in stride. At the start of our relationship I’d been horrified by how calmly she’d accepted that I wasn’t human, that I lusted to drain her of her blood. But then I’d been blessed to watch her astounding resilience as she’d kept staunchly to our family’s “vegetarian” diet, developed her powerful shield, and how sat for a long overdue “meet the parents”, carrying on a one sided conversation in the middle of a Chicago cemetery with two people who hadn’t even existed in her timeline.

Renesmee remained silent, her thoughts spinning in puzzled contemplation, returning to a train of thought that had ridden through her head off and on through the last few days. In short, she was trying to wrap her mind around the existence of this set of human, deceased grandparents. Consciously she’d been aware of Edward senior and Elizabeth for years, learning about our family history on my knee growing up. But this was perhaps the first time she truly considered that they were real people who had been born, and filled their days with memories, and died, creating me along the way. There’d been no emotional connection to these grandparents like she had with Carlisle, Esme, Charlie, and even to an extent Renee. (Nessie knew of Renee’s existence, but not the other way around).

Amidst this pondering, Bella continued her one sided conversation. “I want to thank you both,” she murmured. “For bringing Edward into the world, for raising him to be kind and compassionate, for making him the man I love.” Her eyes flitted back to me, a sweet, adoring smile on her face. “But Elizabeth...I especially want to thank you for roll in saving him, for convincing Carlisle to transform him. I so wish you could see him the way I have: keeping me alive in every way possible, playing piano with our daughter, fighting every day to deny his thirst...he might insist otherwise, but I think you’d be proud of him. I know I am.”

There was so much I wanted to say in that moment...but all those unformed words scattered when I caught the sound of an unfamiliar, but distinctly non human scent...and mind.

_What...who is that? I...I think they’re like me? Are they with Cilla, oh please no, is she after me??! Wait...is that blood? BLOOD!!!_

A newborn! Any mature vampire would not have been so enticed by Renesmee’s not quite human aroma. They were getting closer, Bella picked up the scent too and shot straight up.

“Nessie,” I tried to keep my voice even. “Head back to the house, now.” She couldn’t have outrun a full vampire by herself of course...but Bella and I could surely hold him down while she darted.

Seeing the panic in our expressions, Renesmee nodded once and was gone. Wordlessly, Bella and I went towards the scent of the stranger, accidently splitting a few tombstones in two in our haste. Within a mile we found the dark haired, wild eyes vampire, still trailing the blood he’d detected. His senses were so focused on the hunt he didn’t even notice us until we quite literally had our arms around him, restraining his movements as best we could against his brute strength and feral thrashing. I couldn’t detect any other sign of life, vampire, human, or otherwise in the immediate vicinity, but we could hardly carry where anyone could, in theory, see us. Where to go?

“Stop!” he snarled, struggling even harder. “I’m not going back to her!” Bella’s eyebrows shot up and she gave me pointed look, waiting for an explanation from her mind reader. I listened harder, trying to filter through the overwhelming panicked instinct to fight. I eventually matched the “her” he referred to with a menacing, vampire face framed by pale blond hair. I saw murky human memories of this woman, “Cilla”, and I understood his panic...and felt a low rage when I realized the torture she’s inflicted upon this newborn. I also quickly picked up that this terror now far outweighed the momentary blood lust he’d felt from the whiff he’d picked up from Renesmee.

“Cilla didn’t send us,” I quickly said. His wild, crimson eye met mine, trying to detect a lie. He became quickly perplexed once he took in my amber tinted irises.

_What? Who are they? They seem about as strong as me, sort of, they smell like me, whatever I am, but those eyes? If Cilla didn’t send them how did he know her name? Let me go, dammit! Leave me alone!_

Flickers of recollections bubbled to his immediate thoughts, enough for me to start grasping his predicament. He’d been an actor-of course! The one had had been reported missing. It seemed that after biting and having her way with this young man, Forest Griffin, I detected, she’d expected him to join her once his transformation was complete. He’d rejected her, both horrified by what he was and pleased that he could now fight her off, and had been spending the last two months living in terror at the thought of her coming back for him. She’d made a few appearances, but he’d fought her off each time.

The poor man...what do do with him? I had no desire to harm him, I tried not to take it personally that my daughter had been the blood source to send him in a frenzy. He certainly hadn’t chosen this second life. But I also wasn’t about to let an instinct driven, ravenous young vampire run amuck with her in such close proximity either. Perhaps a change of tactics… I lunged for Forest’s soldiers, and pinned him to the ground below. He continued to struggle, but I kept him on his back wish my knees locked on his chest. Bella followed suit, forcing down his legs and lower half of his body. I looked the newborn vampire in the eye, and delivered each word with emphasis.

“Forest, listen to me,” I said. He didn’t seem especially surprised that I knew his name, but considering his celebrity status as a human this had likely been commonplace for him. “We’re not with Cilla. We don’t want to hurt you, but we need to relocate. I imagine you have a lot of unanswered questions about what’s happened to you.” That caught his attention, and his internal monologue confirmed my suspicion.

_Hell yes I have questions. What are you-am I? Cilla said something about “vampires”, but that couldn’t be...I guess that explains the blood thing...I don’t know if I trust him...or her...but what if they’re lying??!? I don’t care how thirsty I am or how many questions I have I will not let them bring me back to be Cilla’s sex slave._

“Why don’t you take us to your hideout?” I prompted. I’d seen a glimpse of a place he’d spent the daylight hours-the basement of a vacant rental property in a less than desirable part of the city. Maybe if we followed him to a place he knew, rather than taking him somewhere by force, he’d be convinced we weren’t on a kidnapping mission from his sadistic creator.

Forest narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but eventually relented. “Fine. Get your paws off me and we’ll be on our way.”

Cautiously, Bella and I removed ourselves from Forest’s body with eyes still fixed on him, ready to knock him back down at the first sign of trouble. Bella raised her eyebrows at me once again, still awaiting an explanation.

“Sorry about that love,” I apologized. “Forest will give you the full rundown, I’m sure.”

“Fine. But I’m calling Renesmee, she’s got to be frantic.”

“Absolutely.”

We followed Forest across the rooftops of the city, too fast and too dark for humans to ever notice. Bella called Renesmee en route, gave her the rundown of events, but assured her not to worry and we’d be back, with a more thorough explanation, as soon as we could. She accepted this for the time being and wished us “goodnight” before retiring to bed.

Forest’s hideaway was indeed decrepit. We each slid through a broken window, into the damp basement. He stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed, assessing my wife and I with curious, but suspicious eyes.

“So just to be clear,” he probed, “you’re...we’re...well, we’re not exactly people, are we?”


	5. Mythology

Chapter Four-Mythology 

 

Chicago

 

Forest 

 

Hours of conversation in my newfound lair with two strangers, and I still had more questions than answers. But a few points were now exceedingly clear. The pair that had found me, Edward and Bella, were vampires. So was Cilla. And now, thanks to the venom she’d used for incapacitating me, so was I. Even after all I’d seen the past two months, it felt so  _ bizarre _ to even think the word, much less say that’s what I was.

Of course it didn’t help that every once in a while, I would catch the scent of someone’s blood within a few blocks and the two had stopped to restrain me, sometimes both of them literally piling on top of me. (What did matter to them who or what I ate anyway? Weren’t they vampires too, after all? That would be another question for later.)

Maybe it was just so hard to accept what they were telling me because aside from the insatiable desire to drink every person I encountered, everything about my new form that I’d both discovered on my own and had been told by Edward and Bella now was so contradictory to my own image of what “vampires” were. (Mostly gleaned from binge watching  _ Buffy the Vampire Slayer  _ on Netflix, but still). Turns out holy water, stakes through the hearts, and crosses don’t harm us a bit.

“So we’re indestructible then?” I’d asked.

“More or less,” Bella had answered. “The only way to definitely kill a vampire is to rip them to shreds and burn the pieces. Of course, only a vampire would be strong enough to do bring another one down.” She paused and exchanged a look with Edward before adding “Or an equivalently strong being.”

_Equivalently strong_!?? _What other weird creatures were out there anyway? Don’t tell me Bigfoot is real too._ _I’m already looking over my shoulder for Cilla ever day, now I gotta worry about being torn apart and set ablaze by Sasquatch??_

“Not exactly,” Edward chuckled. Right-apparently he literally read minds. Was it just him? I certainly didn’t...I’d need an explanation for later too. Edward and Bella then went into another spiel about the only other true threat to vampires...werewolves. FRIGGIN werewolves. Or apparently “shapeshifter” was the the politically correct term...sort of?

 

“What would you would think of as ‘werewolves’, people who transform into wolves under the moonlight and spread their species by infecting others are almost extinct,” Edward explained. “There is also a group of Indigenous people back in Washington where we’re from that have the ability to take on the form of a wolf, but they are considered ‘shapeshifters’ rather than ‘werewolves.’”

 

“And they can kill vampires?” I probed.

 

“Yes, but I wouldn’t be too worried,” Bella quickly assured me. “Their main objective is to protect their tribal land from vampire attacks, it’s not like they go on crusades to seek out the undead. It’s kind of a ‘you leave us alone and we’ll leave you alone’ type deal.”

 

“Huh,” was all I could muster. I suspected there was a story there too. “Any other fantasy creatures I should know about? Mermaids? Hobbits? Easter Bunny? Loch Ness Monster?”

 

Edward and Bella exchanged a conspiratorial look and snickered, laughing at a private joke. “No, though our kind has unintentionally given some of the basis to folklore through the years. Which brings me to another important point: I’m assuming Cilla didn’t didn’t inform you of vampire law?” His question was bitterly rhetorical. 

 

I’d lain out my tumultuous tales to my new acquaintances. The night Cilla kidnapped me was vaguely fuzzy, but I remembered with perfectly clarity waking up in complete terror and disorientation, and an unadulterated burn in my throat. She’s been there, and without even thinking I flung myself forward, discovering to my great surprise that I could propel her across the room, arcing high through the warehouse’s vast ceiling. Terrified, both of Cilla and myself, I’d bolted, accidentally taking part of a wall with me. I knew now what I was or what I would become, except that I certainly couldn’t return to the life of Forest Griffin: Midwest boy turned actor turned teen heart throb. 

 

Cill had caught up with me of course. She found where I hid, tried to seduce me into leaving my hiding place to be with her. It took little of her hearing her voice before my base, animalistic instincts took over and I took her down, sometimes removing a limb or two in the process. And as scared as I was of my newfound abilities, I took a sick satisfaction in making this horrid harpy suffer, even if it was just for a moment. Edward had also been kind enough to explain to me that I was exponentially stronger than Cilla due to my status as a “newborn” vampire at less than a year old. Eventually Cilla and I would be on the same strength level and I’d have to figure out a new way to keep her the hell away, but maybe by then she’d get the message. Of course, now I knew how to kill vampires...

 

“I don’t know what you mean so I’m going with ‘no’”, I finally answered. “But we have laws?”

 

“Really only one: that we keep the existence of our kind a secret to humans,” Edward clarified. “For you as a newborn, that mostly means hunting inconspicuously, and not exhibiting any of our vampire traits where we can be visibly seen.”

 

_ Huh...makes sense. I guess that’s why they stopped me from attacking all those times.  _

 

“That’s part of it,” Edward interrupted my musings. “Another facet of vampire law is controlling any vampires you create. It’s certainly not your fault your creator was so reckless.” 

 

“Does that happen a lot?” I ventured. “A rogue vampire abandoned with nobody to teach them the rules?”

 

“Rarely, and it never ends well,” Bella remarked, glumly. “It’s only a matter of time before The Volturi become involved.”

 

“The Vol-what-now?” Now we were an what seemed like another history lesson about the vampiric royal family in Italy. The revulsion in both of their voices as they recounted the tales of this vampire mafia group that enforced the laws. I wondered if what Bella and Edward told me was common knowledge, or if they knew from personal experience? Then again, Edward did have the whole mind-reading thing to pick up extra knowledge. 

 

“With something this important you’d think someone would write an instruction manual or something for new vampires. You know, like in  _ Beetlejuice _ :  _ Handbook for the Recently Deceased _ and what not.” I laughed at my own joke. 

“Making another one of our kind is difficult, and as such situations like yours are rare,” Bella explained. She turned then to Edward, as a new concern became creased in her marble brow. “It’s almost dawn, we should get going. Just in case the sun pokes through.”

 

Damn. My head snapped to the broken window, where the earliest signs of the impending new day became clear in my heightened vision.    
  
“No,” I murmured. Though I hardly knew these strange vampires that had taken pity on me, they were the first connection I’d made in my new life, and I had no desire to be alone in my depraved state. Their yellow eyes met mine, irises marked with pity. 

 

“We’ll be back at nightfall,” Edward assured me. “Can you keep yourself out of trouble until then?”  I nodded. What choice did I have? 

 

“We want to help you,” he continued. “But we have a bit of a...delicate situation of our own. We’ll need to figure out our best options.” I nodded again. I had no idea what they meant, or if they would stay true to their word. But they were giving me a bone, which was considerably more than I had twenty four hours ago. 

 

They said their goodbyes and were gone. As they left, I caught something in Bella’s words about “Nessie will be awake soon.” Ha, I knew it, they  _ did _ know the Loch Ness Monster! But considering all the knowledge I now held of this bizarre supernatural world I now lived in, that seemed about right. 

 


	6. Arrangements

Chapter Five-Arrangements

Bella

Chicago

Our first order of business upon returning to the Masen home was answering the irate voicemails on Edward’s and my cell phones that had been left by Alice. Of course-she had seen the run-in with Forest! My phone had remained shut off ever since I’d finished my call to Renesmee the night before, and Edward’s had died shortly thereafter: he hadn’t anticipated staying out so late. It was Saturday, freeing Alice of her obligations at her university, so she answered right away. 

“Took you long enough,” she’d chided. “I saw that you both were all right, but I couldn’t see Nessie so I wasn’t positive that nothing had happened to her! And since when Forest Griffin a vampire?!?” Right...she and Rosalie had binge watched him in all of Oceans of Neptune over the past summer. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Edward had apologized. (No need for speakerphone when all involved the call had vampire hearing!) “The three of us are perfectly fine, but it seems Forest has had quite the rough time of it.”

“I see. Carlisle should be home from his night shift at about 6 AM our time,” Alice offered, detecting our ulterior motive. 

“Perfect, we’ll call you back then. Get Jasper and Esme on the call too,” I said. With the two hour time difference from Portland to Chicago, Renesmee would probably be awake not long after Carlisle got home, and I wanted her in on the Forest situation. I’d given her the Cliffnotes version last night, but I knew she’d want the full run down. I briefly considered if we should have add Rosalie and Emmett in a conference call, but decided against it. They were still on their extended vacation, and far be it from me to interrupt their amorous activities if it wasn’t absolutely necessary-I’d been burned before. 

“Will do,” Alice chirped. “Don’t scare me like that again!”

“Sorry, sis,” I sighed. “Talk to you soon.”

“Talk to you soon,” she intoned back. 

“One crisis averted,” I mumbled, setting my phone down after Alice disconnected. “But what are we going to do with Forest? We can’t leave like this. It wouldn’t be right.”

Edward nodded in agreement. “He’s truly terrified. I can’t help but think of Bree.” He frowned at the memory of the newborn vampire from Victoria’s army, executed by the Volturi for the “breaking of rules” she hadn’t known existed. “Besides, now that we’re involved, I wouldn’t put it past the Volturi to try and if he makes some kind of disturbance that attracts human attention, I wouldn’t put it past Aro to try and implicate us as well.”

I pressed my lips together in a hard line, knowing he was right. Aro would just love another excuse to do the Cullens in. 

“I hope Carlisle has a solution, I’ve got nothing,” I moaned. “We can’t have him Forks.” Between our human-blooded daughter, the Quileute shapeshifters, and the anonymity we were trying to maintain, none of that boded well with a frenzied, ravenous newborn vampire. 

But hours later, with the rest of the family on the phone and up to speed, Carlisle was just as perplexed as us. His compassionate nature was deeply troubled by Forest’s circumstances.

“His celebrity status also puts a wrench in works,” he fretted. “I’d offer to take him in, but I don’t know if that’s feasible given how recognizable his is. I’d hate for us to have to uproot again so soon if we can avoid it.”

“It wouldn’t have to be all of us,” Jasper offered. “One or two of us could go somewhere remote until he’s under control.”

“And separate us even further? Even when he is under control, that doesn’t change the fact that there’s going to be an ongoing investigation into his disappearance,” Esme pointed out. According to Alice, true crime podcasts were already eating up the story of the hunky TV star who vanished out of his third floor window, with no sign of a struggle except for the smashed window and the corpse of his bodyguard on the bathroom floor. 

“What about the Denalis?” Renesmee suggested. “They already live in a remote area. We can ask them, at least, can’t we?” The rest of us were quiet, considering. 

“That...might just work,” Edward praised, smiling at our daughter. “We can ask, at least.”

“Yes, Edward, why don’t you give Tanya a call? I’m sure you can persuade her, easily enough” Jasper teased. 

Nessie and Edward simultaneously made the same wrinkle-nose expression, like daughter like father, in response to Jasper’s teasing. I would have laughed if I wasn’t equally uncomfortable at the mention of Tanya’s unrequited feelings for my husband. She’d been on relatively good behavior all things considered, but her unchanging vampire temperament had kept the flame of affection burning for Edward. Our ever attentive daughter had picked up Tanya’s interest years ago, leading to an extremely awkward conversation between her, Edward and myself. (Not nearly as embarrassing as when she’d learned that Jacob and I had kissed, but close.)

“Do you think he’ll be willing to adopt our diet?” Carlisle inquired, changing the subject for our benefit.

“Guess we’ll find out,” Edward replied. “Alice, can you see anything? How do you think Tanya and the others will respond?’

“Not yet. Too many unknowns,” she sighed. “But I’m not detecting any more colorful incidents from Forest, so at least we have that on our side. I don’t see any appearances from Cilla in the near future either, so he can rest easy on that account.”

“Do you think Cilla would follow him to Denali?” Jasper probed. Of course that’s where his thoughts would go, considering his experiences in the South.

“Possibly We’ll warn Tanya, of course,” Edward said. “Give Kate a few rounds with her, that’ll send her packing.” He chuckled, likely imagining that exact scenario. From everything I’d learned about Cilla, that sounded exactly like what she deserved. However, the thought of Cilla traveling to Alaska sparked another potential problem. 

“How would we get Forest to Denali?” I wondered. “We can’t take him in any form of public transport. 

“Hold up,” Renesmee interrupted. “When you say ‘we’, I’m assuming I’m not included in this ?”

 

“That’s correct,” Edward said firmly. Not a chance we would allow our daughter within close confines of a newborn again. 

“Just checking. So much for family vacation,” she snorted.

I rubbed her shoulder. “Sorry, Ness. We’ll have another go at it soon,” I promised. 

The six of us debated the pros and cons of various routes from Chicago to Denali, and modes of transportation: running on foot, rental car, renting a boat, etc. Eventually, it was decided that Edward, Forest, and myself would take a rental car from Chicago to Portland to meet the rest of the family. From there, Carlisle would join us as we went north to Denali, while Alice and Esme returned the rental car to Chicago and kept Renesmee company, using Edward’s and my plane tickets to come back to Forks with her. We would take as many back roads as we could to minimize contact with other drivers and their passengers. Though the frame of an automobile would do little to hold back a strong newborn vampire, hopefully it would at least be enough of a buffer between the scent of human blood. Without Renesmee on the trip, Alice would be able to keep an eye on us, and call with any problems she may see. 

“I better give Tanya a call,” Edward said with a martyr-like ton to his voice. I heard Jasper snort on the other side of the line. 

“We’ll let you go then,” Carlisle replied, ever tactful. We said our goodbyes, and the phone went silent. Edward kept the device in his large white hand, eyeing it like it was a live hand grenade. 

“Do you want me to call?” I offered. I knew he was hesitant to ask Tanya for favors considering their history, especially one of this magnitude. He shook his head. “Well give you some privacy then,” I promised. I put my arm behind Renesmee’s back and lead her upstairs. I would still hear everything, but her ears probably wouldn’t pick up the entirety of the conversation if we were a flight up.  
Where the wooden stairs ended, the first room in sight was the one that had served as Edward’s bedroom during his human years. Renesmee had slept there since we had arrived, with Edward and I occupying the master bedroom down the hall. She didn’t object when I followed her into her room. From the moment she’d been born Renesmee had rarely been alone. Even as she reached maturity and went through her equivalent of the teen years where she didn’t want Edward and I “crowding her”, she would still spend waking hours with the rest of the Cullens, or at La Push with Jacob and the rest of the wolves. As an adult she had acquired independence and took time alone in stride, but she still preferred the company of one of the numerous individuals who loved her. 

“I’m sorry we’re having to leave you alone,” I lamented to Nessie, as she sprawled across her bed, stomach against the covers, and her chin in her hands. Though I had no need to rest my legs, I sat down on the corner of the bed to give us closer proximity.

Nessie looked up at me and shrugged. “Not your fault. How long do you think it will take anyway?”

“That depends upon how fast of a car we’re able to rent,” I answered, running my fingers through her metallic hair. “Since we don’t have to stop and sleep, just for gas, I’d estimate a day and a half to reach Portland, and the same amount of time for your Nana and Aunt Alice to meet you here. Of course your father’s driving will likely shave off some time.” Since gaining immortality I no longer panicked at Edward’s faster than legal driving as I had as a human, but like any “old married couple” I still got a kick out of making jabs at his performance behind the wheel. 

I couldn’t help but hear Edward’s conversation with Tanya, as he explained our predicament. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I quickly presented Nessie with a new topic of conversation as a distraction for the both of us. 

“So, how’s the wedding planning going?” I inquired. 

“Great, at least so far,” Renesmee smiled. “There’s so much to attend to, I’m glad I have the Wolf Girls and everyone else on board.” 

Not long after Jared and Kim’s wedding eight years ago, Renesmee and the other imprintees of the two packs had the idea to create their own “secret society”, with the mentality that it shouldn’t just be the wolves to have all the fun. They’d decided on the name “Wolf Girls”, a nod to my nickname for Emily Young, now Emily Uley, when I’d first met her. It was a sizeable group of ladies consisting of my daughter, Emily, Kim, Rachel, and the most recent member: Katie Marshall, one of my former classmates at Forks, that Embry had most recently imprinted on when she’d come to town for the Forks High School ten year reunion. Claire Young, Quil’s imprintee, was technically a part of the Wolf Girls well, but at age fourteen she was more inclined to spending time with her school friends, and still considered Quil to be an older brother to her. 

One of the main duties of the Wolf Girls was putting together each other’s weddings. Little did the poor girls know that Nessie’s Auntie Alice already had a massive file on her laptop dedicated to the eventual Black/Cullen wedding. Between the force of nature that was Alice threatening to bulldoze anyone who got in her way, the genetic vampire versus werewolf hostility, and the fact that putting a massive group of vegetarian vampires, traditional vampires, shapeshifters, and humans together for a wedding held major potential for disaster, a series of compromises had been made to avoid metaphorical and literal bloodshed.

As of now, the plan was that the Wolf Girls would plan an intimate ceremony of the reservation with a small scale reception following. This was to be attended by both packs and the rest of the tribe, the immediate Cullen family, and Charlie. The follow up to this would be a party hosted one month later at the Masen family estate in Chicago as Edward had suggested. It promised to be a full-blown Alice Cullen extravaganza, as well as the opportunity for both Alice to get all of her kicks and grins, but also include our circles of non-Cullen vampires in on the fun. Not only would both Alice and the Wolf Girls get their run, but now no traditional vampires would come into contact with the Quileutes, many of whom still didn’t know of the existence of vampires like Jacob’s sister Rebecca and her husband, or Charlie, who was still determined after ten years not to know more than he had to. 

“I’m glad you have them too,” I agreed. “The ‘party planning’ and ‘dream wedding fantasy’ parts of womanhood skipped me. If it hadn’t been for Alice I would have eloped with your father and gone through a Las Vegas drive through chapel in sweatpants.” 

Renesmee laughed at the mental picture. “The process hasn’t been bad so far. Mostly each of the girls give me options, and I pick my favorite. Of course, I did have to veto Jacob’s suggestion for riding of to our honeymoon on a motorcycle with a “Just Married” sign at the back. Grandpa would have a fit.” Now we were both laughing. Charlie had handled everything, even the fact that Renesmee was getting married ten years after she was born, with relative ease, but still couldn’t stomach the idea of his granddaughter on the back of a motorcycle. No sense telling him she already rode with Jacob all the time, and was by all accounts mostly indestructible. 

“Poor Dad would have a stroke,” I agreed. I hadn’t anticipated the sudden look of alarm in Renesmee’s face. My eyebrows furrowed together.

“Sorry,” she quickly said. “I know it’s just an expression. I...I was just thinking about yesterday, that’s all.”

“You were scared about your father and I?” I inquired.

“Well that too,” she admitted. “Mostly I was thinking about visiting the cemetery...and Dad’s parents.” 

Oh...I was beginning to understand. It suddenly occurred to me how in the ten years she had lived, my daughter had very rarely had to interact with the concept of death. Aside from the threat of the Volturi shortly after she was born, and seeing Irina decimated in the snowy almost-battlefield, she’d had no reason to think of the people she loved dying. Of course she didn’t. Most of her loved ones were either immortal, or had stopped aging indefinitely. But as for the humans in her life: Charlie, Billy, Sue…well, they were a different story. 

“It got me thinking,” she continued. “Grandpa...he’ll be around a while, right?”

“Probably,” I assured her. “He’s only fifty three now, plenty of people make it to their seventies or eighties. But unfortunately there’s no way to guarantee that. Edward’s parents were only in their forties.” 

“I know,” she sighed. “I just really hadn’t thought about it much.” 

I pulled Renesmee into me for a hug. “I wouldn’t be too worried though,” I whispered, stroking her hair. “Your Grandpa’s in good health. And I doubt anything could get in the way of him watching you get married. He’s a tough cookie.” I was half assuring myself as well as her. We were lucky, that Charlie was even in our lives at all after my becoming a vampire. But that wouldn’t make the eventual “goodbye” that came with mortality any less sad. 

I heard Edward say farewell to Tanya, and a microsecond later he was at the doorway of his former bedroom. Nessie and I pulled away from each other and faced him. I already had an idea what he was about to say. Distracting myself had only gone so far against my enhanced hearing.

“Tanya said she’s willing to take in Forest, but she said she’d have to discuss it with the rest,” he said. “They were out on a hunting trip and were unavailable for consultation. She said she was going to follow them and and get back to us as soon as she could.”


	7. Request

**Chapter Six-Request**

 

Tanya

 

Denali, AL

  
  


Within a nanosecond of ending my conversation with Edward, I was out the door and dialing Kate. I could easily follow my family’s scent, especially since they’d gone on foot, but with the considerable head start they had I’d never be able to catch up unless I alerted them first. Kate answered immediately.

 

“Change your mind?” she answered, sounding pleased.

 

“I need to talk to all of you. Stop where you are and let me catch up,” I commanded. 

 

“Why? What’s wrong?”

 

“I’ll explain everything,” I promised. “Please just stop the others.”

 

“Fine, see you soon,” Kate aqueased. I flitted south at full speed, barely touching the snow. No need to conform to human speeds with no other sentient creatures for miles. As the tundra whisked past me, my conversation with Edward replayed in my mind, and I couldn’t help but feel disturbed as it did.

 

For one, there was the horrific story of the newborn vampire he had spun.  I was genuinely sickened by the thought of this Cilla, but if I was being honest I knew a degree of this disgust was with myself, and the centuries I’d spent seducing men and drinking them dry. But even when I was that red eyed creature, I’d never kidnapped or purposely tortured any of my conquests. I may have used my abundance of feminine wiles to lure them, but they all came to my bed by their own free will. 

 

What’s more, I was disturbed by how quickly I’d been willing to do whatever Edward asked of me, and my fruitless desire to please him. I hadn’t even considered giving an outright “no” to his request to take on this unfortunate newborn. 

  
_Don’t think anything of this_ I ordered, internally. _It’s only logical that he would ask you, we’re his closest friends and we’re in an ideal location to a ravenous vampire with a famous profile._

 

The scent of my family grew stronger until they were finally in my line of vision: still as statues sans Garrett, who was finishing off a lynx.

 

“Sorry, didn’t know how long you’d be,” he apologized before discarding the carcass. 

 

“Edward called,” I blurted out, ignoring him. Everyone’s heads snapped towards me. “He...had a favor to ask, and it would involve all of us”. 

 

“The Volturi…” Eleazar breathed, growing tense. He had spent the last decade anticipating another attempt from his former coven to claim the talented members of the Cullen family. I assured him this was not the scenario at hand before reiterating Edward’s request to help Forest. I was interrupted countless times, my family tripping over themselves with the expected shock and concern for all parties involved. But it was the crux of the matter that left them all silent. 

 

“They’ve requested that we bring Forest here...that we ‘adopt’ him. I told him I’d have to discuss the matter with all of you…” I trailed off, avoiding eye contact in a half hearted attempt to hide my shame. It was ridiculous, of course, they knew all too well my hopeless unrequited feelings. But I did truly feel compelled to help this newborn vampire, and I hoped they wouldn’t think I was purely motivated by my lingering feelings. 

 

Garrett was the first to break the silence. “I mean...of course we will, right?” I knew he would be eager for an adventure, and likely for another male in our midst. 

 

Kate was more hesitant. “Has he agreed to at least try our diet?”

 

“Edward said they’d ask him if we agreed,” I answered.

 

Kate nodded. “Then I don’t see why not. You won’t be the most recent convert to vegetarianism anymore,” she needled Garrett, giving him a playful shove that he returned. 

 

Carmen had barely spoken a word since I arrived, other than reacting with fear when I told her Forest had caught Renesmee’s scent in Chicago, which is how he had crossed paths with Edward and Bella. I could see a new concern rising to her lips. “What about Forest’s creator? I don’t want that  _ mala dama _ coming here.” Her mouth pursed together and she gave a concerning look to Eleazar. 

 

“Let her come,” Kate smiled, waggling her fingers as the slightest of currents buzzed off of them. “Sounds like that wretch has it coming to her.”

 

“Indeed,” Eleazar agreed. “Of all the reckless,  _ estupido,  _ decisions, changing some A-list celebrity.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I want to risk having the Volturi come back to us if we draw attention by having him here.”

 

“Of course not,” Garrett agreed. “But if this Forest guy is going to go unnoticed, here’s the best place for him. Who’s going to believe that some TV star who went missing ended up in Alaska? Even if he is spotted, it wouldn’t be hard to vanish long before anybody can confirm that it’s in fact him.” 

 

Eleazar nodded, following his logic. “I think we should tell Edward ‘yes’ if there are no objections. When did he say he’d be here?”

“A few days at least, according to Edward,” I answered. “Bella and Edward will travel to Portland Forest and then make the rest of the trip with Carlisle.” I saw a slight melancholy in Carmen’s eyes when I didn’t mention Renesmee, but she didn’t press the issue, understanding why bringing her would not be in anyone’s best interest. “In that case, I’ll head home and call Edward.”

 

“No,” Kate interjected. “I mean, yes, call Edward, but don’t go back. You’ve already come this far, you may as well be as strong as possible if we’re going to have a newborn around here.” I wanted to protest her again, but my resolve was worn down. 

 

“Fine, I’m calling Edward and then we’ll be on our way,” I sighed. I sped out of sight, in an attempt for some privacy.  _ Foolish, foolish. _ I wouldn’t be saying anything to him I hadn’t already said to my family just now. 

 

He answered on the first ring. “Yes, Tanya?”

 

“Go ahead and bring Forest,” I encouraged. 

 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes,” I reiterated. “Just make sure he understands what he’s agreeing to by living with us.”

 

“Tanya, I’m not suggesting you keep him in your family forever,” he amended. “If he wants to go his own way after a time, then so be it. Which brings me to another point.” I already did not like shift in his voice. 

 

“Tanya...I’m going to say this as tactfully as I can...but...it might not be in anyone’s best interest it you tried to seduce Forest right off the bat.” Though it was a reaction I hadn’t experiences for centuries, I felt surely that I must be blushing. 

 

He continued. “He...is extremely traumatized by his introduction into our species, and I don’t believe that your advances would be received well right now.”

 

I was truly ashamed as I recalled my persistent attempts at bedding Edward over the years: dipping my naked body in blood, vividly picturing us mid-coitus just when I knew he was in hearing range of my thoughts, sneaking up behind him wearing little more than a thin robe if even that...just to name a few.  I was silent, soaking in his...warning? Was that the right word? No, there was no threat to his words, just a mere addition to the request to take in this wayward vampire. 

 

His concerns were certainly not misplaced, i I was being honest. Though it hadn’t crossed my mind yet, I knew that I would have attempted to bed Forest eventually. I hadn’t seen the TV series that had made him famous, but if he was attractive enough as a human to be on network TV, I could only imagine how handsome he must now be in vampire form.

 

After a few beats of awkward silence, I took in a deep breath. “Of course not,” I promised. The uneasiness I felt rose from my stomach to my chest, mimicking the sensation of being pressed by stones. 

 

“I apologize, Tanya,” Edward replied in a mollifying tone. 

 

“I suppose I deserved that,” I conceded, eager to change the subject. “Let me know if Forest wants anything specific, we’ll prepare a space for him in our home once we return from hunting.”

 

“I won’t delay you then. Thank you Tanya, truly. I’ll see you in a few days.”

 

“See you then,” I ended the call. In the same instant Kate materialized in front of me. 

 

“So will you join us then?” she inquired eagerly, her eyes scrutinizing my face.

 

“I suppose I will.” She was right, may as well get my share of carnivores while I could. I started to move, but Kate grabbed my hand, stopping me in my path. Reflexively, I froze at her touch. She rarely used her electrocution powers on me on purpose, but now and then a metaphorical spark would unintentionally buzz anyone who fought back against her. What did she want?

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with all of this?” she asked. I tried to avoid her eyes, but to no avail. 

 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I tried to shrug, but I wasn’t fooling her. 

 

“It’s Edward, isn’t it. You weren’t expecting him to try and curb your sexual escapades.”  _ Of course she’d heard both ends of the conversation.  _ I had nothing to say. 

 

Kate’s eyebrows furrowed. “Since when are you so shy about our history?” 

 

“I’m not,” I interjected. 

 

“Then what is it?” she persisted. 

 

“I don’t know,” I confessed. It’s true, the whole situation felt off somehow. I wanted to just chalk it up to the awkwardness remaining between Edward and myself, but I was sure some self-reflecting would reveal further unpleasantries. “I’ve agreed to join you for hunting, can we just drop it for now?”

 

Kate pursed her lips, and sighed, but didn’t press the matter...for now. “After you then,” she gestured for me to return to the others. She didn’t have to tell me twice. I sped back from whence I came, Kate on my heels. The rest of my family were courteous enough not to address my underlying angst, for which I was grateful. No matter now, soon enough there’d be a newborn vampire to keep close tabs on. I could only hope rearing Forest would be enough of a distraction for me.  


	8. Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been a second since I updated. Just wanted to give you a heads up that this chapter starts with Forest hunting a person, as well as a description of disposing of the corpse.

Chapter 7-Decision

Forest

Chicago, IL

 

The errant jogger barely had time to scream before his neck snapped between my hands. I drank frantically, the plasmic liquid gliding over my tongue. I hadn’t drank since the previous night, an hour or so before Bella and Edward found me, and the pain was maddening. I’d waited in agony for someone to come by, barely holding onto reason within my hiding place. As if I hadn’t already been terrified by the threat of Cilla finding me, and of my barbaric new form, the idea of this Volturi that Edward had spoken of, a powerful force ready to snuff me out if I made a spectacle of myself, kept me bound to my hiding place. 

The pure terror and pure bloodlust had maintained an internal battle for several hours. Of course, the fight was over once the man in his sweatpants, jacket, and headphones was in my line of smell. These details were only now registering, as the last few ounces of his blood entered my body. But it was the vacant, glassy look in their eyes that reminded me of what I was capable of, and what might happen to me if another human found me with a bloodless corpse in my arms. A cursory look in every direction told me there were no witnesses-a stroke of good luck. 

Now to handle the evidence. My body disposal methods had varied in the last two months, depending upon where I was hiding. I’d tried to stay within close range of either Lake Michigan or the Chicago River, using them for dropping my cadavers in, often stuffing bricks in their pockets. Cilla had picked up on this pattern, so I’d had to get creative. I slung the jogger over my back and sped the few blocks back to my hideaway, streaking by at speeds imperceptible to humans. Right outside my window sat at 55 gallon steel drum I had filched from two homeless men after drinking their blood. They’d been burning a fire made of newspapers inside the drum for warmth, and after I’d placed them inside was no doubt their lifeless bodies had been more than sufficiently warm. 

I pulled off the man’s jacket and shoes, and pulled his phone and a water bottle out of his pockets. The phone I would destroy later, and the water bottle contents I’d use to put out the flames after the body was done burning, but the shoes and jacket looked like they’d fit me okay. I didn’t much like the idea of pilfering from the unfortunates who I ran into, but I had no other possessions to my name. Within a week of my transformation I’d tried to return to the hotel room and grab my things, but of course they were all gone, likely now in police custody as evidence of my abrupt disappearance and Richard’s murder. Poor Richard...I could only hope Cilla had done away with him faster than she had with me. I also disliked having to dismember the bodies, but how else would they fit into the barrel? 

I slunk through the broken window into my abode, taking with me the clothing and phone. I set them down and grabbed the box of matches and newspapers I’d accumulated for this very task. Back outside, I shoved the jogger into the barrel, bones breaking as I made him compact into the space. I piled the newspapers on top and set the contents ablaze. I knew I should feel disgusted, but no emotions could register except for a vague, gnawing feeling where my heart used to beat, and a barely muted desire for another body to drink and add to the pyre. 

I settled on the ground next to the barrel, vaguely feeling the heat radiating from the metal. There was nothing left except to wait: wait for the body to burn, wait for Bella and Edward to return. With the downcast sky, I was in no danger of glittering, but I still felt strangely exposed and vulnerable outside during day hours. But this would be my best chance of making sure nobody caught on to the exact contents of my burn barrel. I continued to ponder my surprise encounter and all that I had learned. In my past life this would have been a massive information overload, but now every second and detail was forever stored in my mind with perfect clarity, allowing me to consider and analyze.

For one, I was now an actual vampire. But what did that even mean exactly, aside from the fact that I was insanely thirsty. Would this always mean living in a crummy old basement? Edward had said something about having a house, would that be possible for me too? The logistics of it didn’t quite add up. I had no money anymore, and I couldn’t think of any way to acquire all of my earnings from my acting career without drawing attention, which was especially pertinent now that was aware of this vampire-mafia group in Italy. And even if I did get the money, I couldn’t fathom going through the process of buying a house without killing the realtor. Edward and Bella had said they would try to help me, and clearly they were more knowledgeable about navigating the human world as a non-human than me...I still couldn’t fathom a scenario that would work long term. 

I couldn’t help but feel baffled by the vampire couple I’d met either. How was it that he could read minds? Who had they been protecting when I first encountered them, and what was it to them? Were they some kind of vigilante duo? And what was it that made them so vastly different from the first vampire I’d met? And more importantly, was Cilla the norm of this species, or were Bella and Edward the norm? It was useless, no amount of speculation was going to give me the kind of answers I wanted. The was nothing to do but wait. 

It was dusk by the time the body in the burn barrel was incinerated, with a few embers still glowing within, quickly doused with the water the runner had never drank. I would have then slung the metal drum over my shoulder, towing it to my dumping place, but my senses started to pick up a quickly approaching figure. It was Bella’s scent. Finally. She materialized in front of me, giving me a warm smile. Though we barely knew each other, I felt comforted by the sight of her, one of two friendly connections I’d had since my life as I knew it had ended. 

“Forest,” she greeted me. I smiled in response. I motioned her inside the basement, and she followed. 

“Where’s Edward?” I asked. I’d picked up an intense connection between these two vampires, it seemed odd to see them apart.

“He’s...making preparations,” she replied. “Or, at least he’s on standby to do so. Depending upon what you chose.”

“What I choose?” I knew they would try to help me, but I didn’t think I would have much of a choice in what would transpire. 

“Yes, we reached out to some old friends of ours,” she began to explain. 

“Vampires, I assume?”

“Yes, they live up north in Denali, Alaska. It’s a remote village, so it would be easier for you to go undetected.”

“Alaska?!” I interrupted. My gut reaction was thinking about how cold it gets up there, until I remembered that wasn’t an issue for me anymore. It seemed so far away, and my stomach twisted a bit at the thought of getting dumped off in an unfamiliar place with a group of strangers. But if they were friends with Bella and Edward, surely they couldn’t be that bad. 

“Like I said, we’re giving you a choice,” Bella assured me. “If you decide to go, Edward will get us a rental car, and we’ll drive there after a pit stop in Portland to trade cars with our family. There is something you should know though…” Her tone became more sober, and her lips pursed. “The family in Denali, as well as Edward and my family...live differently from others of our kind.”

So they were the anomaly. “Different how?” 

“Different in our diets. We drink animal blood instead of human blood.” 

“What?!?” Of everything she and Edward had told me, this seemed the hardest to swallow. We were vampires for crying out loud. Maybe we weren’t averse to garlic and didn’t all hail from Transylvania, but everybody knew that the essential makeup of the vampire was saturating our thirst with blood. 

“I know,” she smiled, sympathetically. “I know the idea seems repulsive. And it’s true that animal blood won’t appeal to you the way human blood does, especially since you’ve been drinking the traditional source since changing. But you’ll be far enough away from a large human populous in Denali that you won’t be constantly tempted.” 

It was unfathomable, truly. Of all the vampires in the world who could have changed me, it was a sadistic one who was hell bent on finding me. And of all the vampires who could have possibly decided to take me under their wing, they were the ones who drank animals. 

“Can I have a few moments to think?” I asked, my voice unsteady. 

“Certainly. Do you want me to leave you alone?”

“No!” I reached out for her arm, grabbing her. I was so tired of feeling alone. She winced. 

“Okay, I’ll stay,” she assured me. “But do you mind letting me go?” 

Oh...right. I was stronger than her. “Sorry.” My arm was back to my side in a second. We stayed in our positions, not moving, as I collected my thoughts, now and then asking another questions. I learned that the group in Alaska was lead by a woman named Tanya, and rounded out two other couples. When I asked if any of them read minds like Edward, she gave me a brief overview of “gifted” vampires. Some of us had special powers, some didn’t, and these gifts manifested from a dominant human trait. The Denali clan had two talented vampires: one who could deliver an electric shock through touch, and one who could detect other vampires’ gifts.

That definitely caught my attention. “So...Kate can fight off other vampires?”

“Most other vampires,” she clarified. “My gift is that I’m immune to other vampire powers, at least the ones that affect the mind. Edward can’t even read my thoughts,” she smiled. “I can project it to shield others too.”

“Wow...that’s badass.” She gave me another smile. “Do...do you think Kate would protect me if Cilla tried to follow me to Alaska?” 

“Probably. She’d love a chance to use her power in a real fight.”

This thought definitely tipped me towards the “pro” argument of going to Alaska. Overall, that prospect seemed like a good one: I wouldn’t be lonely, Cilla would never think to look for me in Alaska, and even if she did there would be five other vampires, including two with extra abilities, on my side. But I still felt hung up on that whole concept of only living on the blood of animals. 

Bella must have guessed the nature of my indecision. “If you’re worried about giving up humans, they’re willing to help you. All of them were traditional for years before becoming vegetarians.” She laughed at her little joke. “They’d by sympathetic, especially given how young you are. They all went through it, as did most of my family. Like I said, we’d take you in if we could.” 

Her phone rang then, and she quickly answered. “Edward?” I heard him ask if he should proceed with acquiring the rental car, since he hadn’t heard from her yet. “He’s still mulling it over. I’ll call you as soon as he decides.”

It was hearing her say this that made up my mind. No matter what happened, I couldn’t stand the idea of one more day on my own, watching over my shoulder and living in fear. “Tell him to go a ahead. I’m coming with you.”


	9. UPDATED

Hello everyone...unfortunately this fic is going to be put on an indefinite hiatus. My hometown was hit by a tornado, and my apartment complex was hit. I am safe, but as you can imagine there is much to attend to and will be focusing the majority of my time and energy on that. 

Stay safe out there, and I hope I can pick up again with Northern Lights soon.


End file.
